Aaron Brooks (0): Expect the former NBA Most Improved Player to play the Nate Robinson/D.J. Augustin role and provide occasional scoring spark off the bench.
Derrick Rose (1): For all the added depth, the Bulls still need Rose to be an elite player...

It's unfortunate the Bulls' 2010 free-agent summit with LeBron James and their perfunctory dalliance this summer didn't land the four-time most valuable player.
Beyond the prodigious skills that would've been on display in Chicago, James and Bulls coach...

Two weeks into training camp and nobody has gotten injured, including the mail carrier who brings your questions to the Tribune Tower. OK, so they’re actually emailed but this is an old-school mailbag.
Will the Bulls’ defense suffer with all...

As the Bulls prepare to end the Atlanta Hawks’ season in the next week or so, I’m still not sure which helps the Bulls more:
The Hawks with Kirk Hinrich too injured to play or the Bulls with Carlos Boozer too injured to play?
With Hinrich down because of a hamstring injury, the Hawks have to start Jeff Teague. With a straight face. Teague had the job a while ago, then lost it, and now gets it back by default. Put Teague in a starting lineup that already includes center Jason Collins, and...

Most of the time, it has been Carlos Boozer in foul trouble or just shooting badly that brings Taj Gibson into the game and jazzes up the Bulls’ attack.
In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, however, it was Gibson in foul trouble early in the second quarter that brought Boozer back into the game, more out of desperation, it seemed, after his 0-for-5 shooting in the first quarter.
But look at that: Boozer hit four shots in a row. Inside and outside. With confidence and determination....

Derrick Rose, fourth quarter. Fourth quarter, Derrick Rose. Why don’t you two kids get reintroduced.
Should Rose get outplayed by Mike Miller in the fourth quarter? I mean, really.
Rose had to be the best player in Game 4. Didn’t happen. Not even close. Not with 27 shots to get 23 points.Not with seven turnovers compared to six assists. Not when LeBron James went for 35 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds.
Miami went big for most of the fourth quarter, with James on Rose, and James’ size...

Now the Bulls know what great looks like when great is required.
The Bulls put together a great regular season. They played hard every game. They played good or great a majority of those nights.
But great matters in the playoffs.
Great matters in the fourth quarter of the playoffs.
Great is what Miami’s superstars unleashed on the Bulls, devastating them at the end of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Oh yeah, on the Bulls’ floor, no less. Great does that, too.
LeBron James and...

MIAMI -- Omer Asik took the floor for early warmups before Game 4, but Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau remained coy as to whether the backup center would be available come tip-off.
"Once he's done warming up, we’ll know," Thibodeau said about 90 minutes before the game.
Asik is on the active roster for Game 4 but the extent of his involvement now won't be clear until the game unfolds.
Veteran center Kurt Thomas is the next option should Asik not be able to play due to a muscle strain in his leg...

Well, that was fun, huh?
Covering spectacularly bad teams and unexpectedly good teams are most beat writers' dream, and I've been lucky to do both thanks to the Tim Floyd-era, the 2004-05 Scott Skiles team and now this team. And this season has far surpassed everybody's expectations.
Beyond the winning, though, this is just a serious-minded, professional and respectful group of players to cover. Let's see how many more weeks are left to enjoy doing so.
What's your take on the significance of Noah's...